Valve for cross-connecting power plants to hydraulic machines



May 25, 1954 Q ELLER 2,679,377

VALVE FOR CROSS-CONNECTING POWER PLANTS TO HYDRAULIC MACHINES Filed Aug.12, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet l EAL- Ozia )fizeZZer: BY

.3 Sheets-Sheet 2 May 25, 1954 Q MUELLE VALVE FOR CROSS'CONNECTING POWERPLANTS TO HYDRAULIC MACHINES Filed Aug. 12, 1948 May 25, 1954 O. MUELLERVALVE FOR CROSS-CONNECTING POWER PLANTS T0 HYDRAULIC MACHINES Filed Aug.12, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented May 25, 1954 VALVE FORCROSS-CONNECTING POWER PLANTS TO HYDRAULIC MACHINES Otto Mueller,Dearborn, Mich. Application August 12, 1948, Serial No. 43,914

4 Claims.

1 This invention relates to valve mechanisms generally, and moreparticularly to a transfer type of valve adapted for use between aplurality of high pressure fluid sources and a plurality of machines tobe operated thereby, either individually or in selective groups.

Transfer valves of the above character heretofore known for use betweenone or more high pressure fluid sources and two or more machines forconnecting one or more of the pressure sources to one or more of themachines to operate the latter, all have the distinct disadvantage thatit has been impossible to efficiently and desirably seal the valveagainst leakages at the various valve inlets and outlets thereof whenhigh fluid pressures are to be ejected from only certain of the outletsat any particular time. This leakage problem naturally becomes greateras the size of the valve increases or the value of the pressures to betransferred by the valve increases and the present inventioncontemplates the provision of a novel transfer valve in which theforegoing leakage problem has been overcome, notwithstanding the size ofthe valve or the value of the working pressures being utilized.

An object of the present invention therefore is to provide a novel highpressure fluid transfer valve.

Another object of the invention is to provide a high pressure fluidtransfer valve with novel means whereby in spite of the size of thevalve or the value of the pressures being transferred thereby, the valveremains leakproof.

A further object is to provide a novel, simple and inexpensive transfervalve utilizing self-sealing valve seats whereby the valve is leakproof.

A still further object is to provide a novel transfer valve adapted toconnect sources of high fluid pressure with one or more machinesselectively or in groups wherein the transfer of pressures from onesource to one machine or another is accomplished through a fractionalturn of a readily accessible hand wheel.

Another object is to provide a transfer valve with novel sealing meanswhose efiiciency increases With increasingly high pressures communicatedto the valve.

A further object is to provide a novel high fluid pressure transfervalve having a plurality of working positions with indicating meanswhich will indicate to an operator the particular position the valveoccupies durin any given interval of time.

The above and further objects and novel features of the invention willmore fully appear from the following detailed description, when the sameis read in connection with the accompanying drawings. It is to beexpressly understood, however, that the drawings are for purposes ofillustration only and are not intended as a definition of the limits ofthe invention.

In the drawings wherein like reference characters refer to like partsthroughout the several views:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of the novel transfer valve ofthe present invention shown in association with two sources of highfluid pressure and four separate machines adapted for connection throughthe valve with the pressure sources;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view in section of the novel transfer valvehereof;

Fig. 3 is a section view taken along line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a section view taken along line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a section view taken along line 5-5 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a section view taken along line 6-6 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 7 is a section view taken along line 7-! of Fig. 2;

Fig. 8 is a section view taken along line 8-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 9 is a section view taken substantially along line 9-9 of Fig. 2;and

Fig. 10 is a section view taken along line Ill-l0 of Fig. 8.

Referring now to the drawings for a more detailed description of thepresent invention and more particularly to Fig. 1 thereof, the noveltransfer valve hereof, generally designated with the reference characterI I, is illustrated as having a'manually operable hand wheel l2 adaptedfor connecting selectively or simultaneously twoseparate sources [3 and14 of high pressure fluid to one or more of remotely located fluidpressure operated machines l5, I6, I? and i8.

As better shown in Figs. 2 and 9, the novel transfer valve ii of thepresent invention, comprises a hollow valve casing having a closed frontWall l9 together with top and bottom walls 20, 2 I, and end walls 22 and23. The open end of the casing is closed by a rear Wall 24, the wallbeing provided with shouldered recesses 25 and 26 which are in intimatecontact with the outer edges of the top and bottom walls 20 and 2| ofthe casing, the casing being fastened to wall 24 by suitable means suchas bolts 21, for example.- The top and bottom ends of wall 24 arefurther.

substantially substantially substantially substantially substantiallysubstantially substantially 3 formed with a reduced flanged portion 28so that the transfer valve may be secured to a mounting plate 29 by wayof a series of spaced bolts 39.

The closed front wall I9 of the valve casing is provided with two setsof spaced threaded outlet apertures or ports 3|, 32, 33, 34, and 35, 36,31, 38, each aperture or port communicating the outside of the casingwith the inside thereof. As will be observed in Fig. 1, one set of ports3|, 32, 33 and 34 is directly above and spaced from the other set ofports 35, 36, 31 and 38, for a purpose to presently appear. Rear wall 24of the valve casing in a similar manner is provided with four spacedthreaded apertures or outlet ports 39, 46, 4| and 42 (Fig. 2) alignedwith ports 3|, 32, 33 and 34 of front wall I9 and four spaced lowerthreaded apertures or outlet ports 43, 4 4, 45 and 46 aligned withoutlet ports 35, 36, 3! and 38 of front wall IS.

The valve casing is further provided in its top wall 29 with fourequally spaced and threaded inlet apertures or ports 41, 48, 49 and 50(Fig. 2) and. at its bottom wall with four threaded inlet apertures orports, 52, 53 and each of which is aligned with the inlet ports of thetop wall, all of the apertures or ports communicating the outside of thevalve casing with the inside thereof. As will more fully appearhereinafter, inlet apertures or ports 41, 48, 49 and 59 communicatethrough novel fluid couplings or fittings, to be presently described,with high pressure fluid source I3 by way of conduits 55, 56, 51 and 58,respectively (Fig. l) while inlet ports 5|, 52, 53 and 54 communicatethrough similar fittings with high pressure fluid source I4 by way ofconduits 59, 60, 6| and 62.

Machines I5, I6, I! and I8 are arranged so that for a given position ofthe transfer valve, machine I5 will be connected for operation bypressure fluid from source I3 and machine I 3 will be connected foroperation by pressure fluid from source I4, machines I1 and I8 at thistime being closed off from the sources of fluid pressure. For a secondposition of the valve, machine II will be connected for operation byfluid pressure from source I3 and'machine I8 will be operated by fluidpressure from source I4, machines I5 and"- I& being closed off from thepressure sources at this time. For a third position of the valve,machine |6 will be connected for operation by source I3 with theremaining machines being closed off I at this time, while for a fourthposition of the valve, machine I5 will be connected to pressure sourceI4 for operation thereby, at which time the remaining machines will beclosed off from both pressure sources. position of the valve, machine I8will be connected to pressure source I3, while for a sixth position ofthe valve, machine II will be connected to pressure source I4. To thisend, therefore, machine I5 is connected by way of conduits 63, 64, 65and 66 to valve outlet ports 3|, 32, 33 and 34 through a novel fittingto be presently described similar to the fitting utilized between theinlet ports and the pressure fluid sources. In a similar manner, machineI6 is connected with valve outlet ports 35, 36, 31 and 38 by way ofconduits 61, 68, 69, and III while machine I1 is connected with outletports 39, 40, 4| and 42 by way of conduits II, I2, I3 and I4 and machineI8 is connected by way of conduits I5, I6, 11 and I8 with outlet ports43, 44, 45 and 46.

It will be apparent that with the above arrangement machine I5 may beconnected for operation by pressure fluid source I3 and machine For afurther or fifth" I6 may be connected for operation by pressure fluidsource I4 at the same time, or machines II and I8 may be each connectedfor operation by sources I3 and I4, respectively. In the event ofpressure failure of source I4, machines I6 or I8 may be selectivelyconnected for operation by source I3, while in the event of pressurefailure of source I3, machines I5 and Il may be connected for selectiveoperation by source I4.

In addition to the above described parts, the transfer valve alsoincludes an elongated valve member I9 mounted for axial sliding motionin one direction or another, within the valve casing, such slidingmotion being determined by manual operation of hand wheel I2. To thisend an upper edge of the valve member is beveled and provided with atoothed portion to thereby define a toothed rack 89 which is in meshingengagement with a gear 8| carried by ashaft 92. The latter shaft, asbetter shown in Fig. 9, extends out of the valve casing and at itsextended end has the hub 83 of hand wheel I2 secured thereto by way ofkeys 84. The outermost end of the shaft carries a. reduced threadedportion 85 which is provided with a nut 86 for maintaining the handwheel on the shaft through the agency of a retainer disk or element 31.If desired, bearing washers 88, 89 may be provided to surround the shaftat either end of hub 33. Movement of hand wheel I2, therefore, in onedirection or another, will impart sliding motion in one direction oranother to valve member I9, rear wall 24 being provided with a cutout ornotched portion 90 to accommodate gear 8| therein. In order to minimizefrictional engagement between the outer walls of the valve member 19 andthe inner walls of the valve casing, the valve member is provided withchanneled portions 9| and 92 at either end thereof, with correspondingchanneled portions 93 and 94, located on the inner side of rear wall 24and on the inner side of front wall I9, respec tively. For the samepurpose the lower edges of the valve member are beveled as shown at 95and In order that the various above described connections may be madebetween high fluid pressure sources I3 and Hand machines I5 I3, I? andI3, valve member I9 is provided with pairs of right-angled channels orbores 9'3-92, 99-I 69, I3I-Is2, and His-I94. In the first position ofthe novel transfer valve hereof in which pressure source I3 is connectedto machine ISand pressure source I4 is connected to machine I6, one endof the bore 9'! registers with inlet port 59 (Fig. 3) and the other endof the bore registers with outlet'port 34 so that fluid pressure fromsource I3 is communicated to machine I5 by way of conduit 66, while oneend of bore 36 registers with inlet port 54 and the other end thereofregisters with outlet port 38 so that fluid pressure from source I4 iscommunicated to ma-.

chine I9 by way of conduit I3. At the same time, like ends of bores 99,I9I and I93 register with inlet ports 49, 48 and 47 and the oppositeends thereof register with outlet ports 33, 32 and 3| so thatfluidpressure from source I3 is also connected to machine I5 by way ofconduits 65, 54 and 63, while like ends of bores i913, I02 and I34register with inlet ports 53, 52 and 5| and the opposite ends thereofregister with outlet ports 31, 36 and 35 whereby fluid under pres surefrom source I4 is also communicated to machine I6 by way of conduits 69,68 and 61.

Formed to the left of each right-angled bore 97,- 99, IEII and I03 invalve. member 19 are reversely arranged right-angled bores I 55 (Fig.4), I06, III! and I58 and formed to the left of right-angled bores 98, I50, I02 and I I14 are reversely arranged right-angled bores I 09, IIB,III and H2. In all positions of the transfer valve except the second,bores I 55-II2, inclusive, are closed off. In the second position on thevalve, however, like ends of bores I05, I05, I57 and I08 are broughtinto registry with inlet ports 50, 49, 48 and 47 and the opposite endsthereof are brought into registry with outlet ports 42, M, 40 and 35whereby fluid pressure from source I3 is communicated to machine I I byway of conduits I4, I3, I2 and II. At the same time, like ends of boresI09, IIIi, III and II2 are brought into registry with inlet ports 54,53, 52 and III and the opposite ends thereof are brought into registrywith outlet ports 46, 45, 44 and 43 whereby fluid pressure iscommunicated from source I 4 to machine It by way of conduits I8, 11, I5 and I5.

Formed in valve member I9 to the left of each of bores I55-II2,inclusive, are single rightangled bores H3 (Fig. 5), H4, H5 and H5.These latter bores in all positions of the transfer valve except thethird are closed off but when the valve is operated to its thirdposition like ends of bores II3, II4, II5 and H5 are brought intoregistry with inlet ports 55, 49, 48 and 41 and the opposite endsthereof are brought into registry with outlet ports 38, 5'4, 35 and 35whereby pressure fluid from source It is communicated to machine I5 byway of conduits It, 59, 58 and. 51. In the latter position of the valve,machines I5, I? and I8 will be closed off from both pressure sources.

Also formed on valve member III to the left of single bores I13, II I,II5 and H5 are reversely arranged single right-angled bores III, IE5,III? and I 25. The latter bores in all positions of the transfer valveexcept the fourth are closed off but when the valve is operated to itsfourth position like ends thereof are brought into registry with inletports 54, 53, 52 and 5i and the opposite ends thereof are brought intoregistry with outlet ports 34, 35, 32 and 3| whereby pressure fluid fromsource I4 is communicated to. machine I5 by way of conduits 55, 55, 54and 53. In this latter position of the valve, machines I6, II and I3will be closed off from both pressure sources.

Valve member I5, furthermore, is provided to the left of right-angledbores III, IIB, H5 and I29 with other single right-angled bores Iti(Fig. '7), I22, I23 and I24. These latter bores in all positions of thetransfer valve except the fifth are closed ofi but when the valve isoperated to its fifth position, like ends of the bores are brought intoregistry with inlet ports 55, 49, 45 and 4? and the opposite endsthereof are brought into registry with outlet ports 45, 45, 44 and 43whereby pressure fiuid from source I3 is communicated to machine I 8 byway of conduits I8, II, I5 and I5. In this position of the valvemachines I5, I 6 and I I will be closed off from both pressure sources.

In addition'to the various above discussed bores, valve member i5 isalso provided to the left of right-angled bores I2I, I22, I23 and I24with reversely arranged single right-angled bores I25 (Fig. 8), I26, I21and I28. These latter bores in all positions of the transfer valveexcept the sixth are closed off but when the valve is operated to itssixth position, like ends of the bores are brought into registry withinlet ports 54, 53-,

52 and 5| and the opposite ends thereof are brought into registry withoutlet ports 42, II, 40.

In order that the operator may be instantly advised as to the particularposition that the transfer valve occupies at any given time novel meansare provided in the form of spaced pins I25, I30, I32, I32, I33 and I34(Figs. 2 and 10), each pin representing a definite position of thevalve. The pins are received within receptive holes formed in top wallof the valve casing and their lower ends are tapered for selectivecooperation with a notch I35 formed on valve member I9. As the taperedend of any one of the pins is brought into registry with notch I35- thepin drops inwardly relative to the remaining pins so that its topportion assumes a position in a plane below and parallel to the planecontaining the top ends of the other pins, exhibiting to the operatorthe instantaneous position of the valve. In Fig. 2 of the drawings, pinI29 is shown as having dropped into notch I55, representing the firstposition of the valve in which inlet ports II, 48, 45 and 55 have beenbrought into registry with outletports III, 32, 33 and 54 to connectsource I3 to machine I5 and'in which inlet ports 5!, 52, 53, and 54 havebeen brought into registry with outlet ports 35, 36, 37 and 58 toconnect source I4 with machine I5.

Where it is desired to operate the transfer valve to its secondposition, hand wheel I2 is turned in a counterclockwise direction afraction of a turn causing movement to the right (Fig. 2) of valvemember I9. As a result of such motion pin I29 is cammed out of notch I55and the notch is brought into registry with the lower end of pin I35which drops into the notch advising the operator that the second valveposition has been established in which pressure sources I3 and I4 arecut off from machine I5 and I3 and in which inlet ports 41, 48, 49 and50 and inlet ports 5|, 52, 53 and 54 have been brought into registrywith outlet ports 39, 40, II and 42 and outlet ports 43, 44, and 45 and46, respectively, so that pressure source I3 is connected to machine I?and pressure source I4 is connected to machine I5. For progressivepositions of the valve the hand wheel is turned until pins I3I, I32, I35 and I35 selectively register with notch I35 indicating a third,fourth, fifth and. sixth position of the valve. With pin I3I in registrywith notch I 35 the operator is advised that appropriate inlet portshave been brought into registry with appropriate outlet ports to connectpressure source I3 with machine I6, while with pin I32 in registry withthe notch I35, the operator is advised that appropriate inlet ports havebeen brought into registry with appropriate outlet ports to connectpressure source I4 with machine I5 and with pin I33 in registry with thenotch, the operator is advised that source I3 has been connected tomachine I8. As pin I34 is brought into registry with the notch theoperator is advised that source I4 has been connected to machine II.

In accordance with a further feature of the present invention novelself-sealing valve seats are provided at the various inlets and outletsso that a desirable leak-proof transfer valve is provided thereby. Asbetter shown in Fig. 9 of the drawings each of the threaded portsreceivesa hollow self-sealing valve seat with valve member 19 toregisterwith the various related bores formed in the valve member. Surroundingthe valve seat member for bringing the latter into engagement with valvemember I9 is a hollow fluid coupling or connector, generally' designatedwith the reference character I31, which has a reduced exteriorlythreaded portion I38, an intermediate nut portion I39 and a reducedexternally threaded portion I40. When- I36 and the coupling is providedwith a groove I42 at its inner periphery so that pressure fluid.

flowing through the hollow valve seat and the connector will act on theinner face of the valve seat to urge the latter into engagement with aThe threads in the wall of valve member I9. apertures or ports and thoseon the coupling may be straight threads as distinguished from theconventional pipe threads and the connector is formed with an internalslot or receptive chamber I43 which receives an O-ring I44 thuspreventing passage of pressure fluid between the outer periphery of thevalve seat member and the connector. If desired, a second O-ring I45 maybe utilized between nut I39 and one of the walls of the valve casing toprovide a final seal. Inaddition, a third O-ring I46 of neoprene orother yieldable material is inserted between shoulder I II of the valveseat and the connector which assists in the sealing characteristics ofthe valve seat. Inasmuchas fluid pressure is adapted to act on the inneredge of the valve seat within the pressure chamber defined by grooveI42, the self-sealing characteristics of the valve seat are improved asthe value of the pressure fluid utilized is increased. Thus a novel anddesirable self-sealing leak-proof valve has been provided hereby.

It will now be apparent to those skilled in the art that a novel andsimple transfer valve has been provided by the present invention inwhich by a fractional turn of a single hand wheel various pressure fluidoperated machines may be connected-to one. or more pressure fluidsource, the valve being self-sealing and therefore leak-proof.

Although but a single embodiment of the present inventionhas beenillustrated and described in detail, it is to be expressly understoodthat the invention is not limited thereto. Various changes may be.madein'the description and arrangement of theeparts without departingfrom thespirit and scope of the invention.

Whatxis claimed is:

1. A sealingdevice for joining aligned passage: ways between twoelements, the passageway in one of said elements embodying an enlargedthreaded aperture, said device including, in combination, an externallythreaded connector securable in said threaded aperture, said connectorhaving an enlarged aperture parallel to said threaded portion, a sleevein said last enlarged aperture having a passageway substantially of thesize of the passageway in said other element in alignment therewith, asealing ring between the sleeve and the wall of the said'last enlargedaperture, a head on the end of the sleeve forming ashoulder engageablewith the endof the connector, saidheadhaving a flat end face, said .headtapering toward thefiatendface to reducezthe member I36 therein whoseone end is tapered and in engagement flat end face area thereof, saidfiat end face.

area of the sleeve and the flat area about the passageway in the otherelement being planar and provided with a fine finish to form aface-to-face seal for preventing the leakage of a liquid deliveredthrough said passageways.

2. A sealing device for joining aligned passageways between twoelements, the passageway in one of said elements embodying an enlarged.threaded aperture, said device including, in combination, an externallythreaded connector securable in said threaded aperture, said connectorhaving an enlarged aperture parallel to said threaded portion, a sleevein said last enlarged aperture having a passageway substantially of thesize of the passageway in said other element in alignment therewith, asealing ring between the sleeve and the wall of the said last enlargedaperture, a head on the end of the sleeve forming a shoulder engageablewith the end of the connector, said head having a flat end face, saidhead tapering toward the flat end face to reduce the flat end face areathereof, said fiat end face area of the sleeve and the flat area aboutthe passageway in the other element being planar and provided with afine finish to form a faceto-face seal for preventing the leakage of aliquid delivered through said passageways, the opposite end of thesleeve from that having the head being spaced from the adjacent portionof the connector so as to be subject to the pressure of the liquidwithin the passageway to increase the sealing force applied to saidabutting fiat areas of the sleeve and other element as the pressure onthe fluid increases.

3. A sealing device for joining aligned passageways between twoelements, the passageway in one of said elements embodying an enlargedthreaded aperture, said device including, in combination, an externallythreaded connector securable in said threaded aperture, a sleeve in saidconnector, a sealing ring between the sleeve and the wall of saidconnector, a head on the end of the sleeve forming a shoulder engageablewith the end of the connector, said head having a flat end face, saidhead tapering toward the fiat end face to reduce the flat end face areathereof, said fiat end face area of the sleeve and the flat area aboutthe passageway in the other element being planar and provided with afine finish to form a face-to-face seal for preventing the leakage of aliquid delivered through said passageways, the opposite end of thesleeve from that having the head being subject to the pressure of theliquid within the passageway to increase the sealing force applied tosaid abutting flat areas of the sleeve and other element as the pressureon the fluid increases, and a resilient sealing ring between saidheadandthe adjacent end of the connector for initially applying a sealing forcebetween the flat areas of the end face and the other element.

4. A sealing device for joining aligned passageways between twoelements, the passageway in one or" said elements embodying an enlargedthreaded aperture, said device including, in combination, an externallythreaded connector securable in said threaded aperture, a sleeve in saidconnector, a sealing ring between the sleeve and the wall of saidconnector, a head on the end of the sleeve forming a shoulder engageablewith the end of the connector, said head having a flat end face, saidhead tapering toward the fiat end face to reduce-the flat end face areathereof, said flat endface area of the sleeve and the flat area aboutthe passageway in the other element being planar and provided with afine finish to form a face-to-face seal for preventing the leakage of aliquid delivered through said passageways, the opposite end of thesleeve from that having the head being subject to the pressure of theliquid within the passageway to increase the sealing force applied tosaid abutting flat areas of the sleeve and other element as the pressureon the fluid increases, and a resilient sealing ring between said headand the adjacent end of the connector for initially applying a sealingforce between the flat areas of the end face and the other element, saidfiat area of the other element being extended at one side thereof adistance at least equal to the diameter of the flat end face area, saidelements being so related that one may be shifted laterally relative tothe other so that the -10 passage of fluid through the passageways maybe interrupted and the fluid in the passageway which includes thesealing device is sealed against leakage through the engagement of theflat end face area of the sleeve with said extended flat area of theother element.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

